


I Keep Searching

by therearenousernameleft



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Gendrya - Freeform, The minor relations are very very minor, so many parties
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-02
Updated: 2018-07-11
Packaged: 2019-04-17 10:04:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 15,792
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14186511
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/therearenousernameleft/pseuds/therearenousernameleft
Summary: Arya and family are invited to the Valentine's day bash and her ex-boyfriend is also invited, so naturally Gendry is her fake boyfriend suggested by none other than Jon, who is oblivious to their constantly increasing attraction.





	1. The Date

**Author's Note:**

> I own nothing except my mistakes (probably too many of those). All the characters belong to the person who gave us the ASOIAF series, G.R.R.M.

****The Date** **

"Arya." He murmured. "You feel so good, babe."

She was so close. She looked down to tell him how great it felt. His beautiful blue eyes were looking at her with such intensity that she felt  even closer to the sweet, sweet release.

"Arya."

"Gendry." She moaned loudly as his fingers found that spot inside her.

"Arya!"

_Sansa?_

"Seriously, Arya, wake the hell up." Sansa's voice became clearer as her room floated into view with Sansa holding a jug of water over her.

_She couldn't have waited for like 2 more minutes._

"What the fuck, Sansa." Arya groaned, feeling frustrated because, well, because she was damn near done and Sansa woke her up.

"You were moaning so loudly that it's a miracle no one else came in," Sansa replied grinning as she put the jug down. "I really thought I would need a jug of water to wake you up, and you know, to cool you down."

_Oh my God!_

Arya felt her face heat up. There was no way in hell she moaned that loudly. Sansa was making it up to make her feel embarrassed.

"What are you doing in my room?" Arya asked as she got off the bed and started taking out some clothes from her cupboard because she needed a shower, a very, very cold one.

"We are sharing. Or did you forget? The way you were moaning definitely made it seem like it. And yes, you were that loud."

She did forget. It was their parents’ 40th anniversary, and everyone was back at Winterfell.

"Shut up," Arya said as she hid her face in the covers.

Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath to calm herself, which obviously didn't work because as soon as she closed her eyes the dream she was trying to forget, at that moment, she's definitely going to use that later, started to creep back into her mind. In high definition, no less. She barely managed to hold back a slight whimper when she remembered the way dream Gendry had said her name.

_Yup, definitely need a cold shower._

She rubbed her face and started to make her way to the bathroom when Sansa called.

"By the way Jon found you a date for the Baratheon Valentine's Day Bash."

She was supposed to go to that party with Ned, but then they broke up, and then he got engaged. Like the next week. So she decided that she wasn't going to go because Ned would be there too. She told her siblings the same thing, that she wasn't going to attend the party because her ex, Edric ‘Ned’ Dayne, would be there with his fiance, so naturally, instead of being considerate and leaving her the hell alone they decided that she should go with someone, someone she was comfortable with and wear the sexiest dress she had, _okay, the dress idea was just Ygritte and Sansa._  All she had to do was pretend to be super into the guy. She remembered asking Jon "What if the guy is a creep?"

Jon simply replied, "I'll find you a date, don't worry. I assure you, he won’t be a creep."

"Don't you want to know who it is?" Sansa asked breaking her out of her thoughts.

She shrugged. "Jon said he wouldn't be a creep. That's good enough for me."

*

Of course, her date was Gendry. Why God, why? She and Gendry have always been good friends. She may or may not have had a little, _okay, not that little,_ crush on him. She liked him. Well, more than liked him as her recurring dreams were hell-bent on proving. She was happy with having a little crush, but somehow along the way it turned into... into something more. And ever since she and Ned broke up, and Gendry broke up with his girlfriend those feelings returned with full force. She was already having a hard time getting her emotions under control around Gendry, and now she was going to pretend to be dating him.

_Well, that is just great._

This is so not going to end well.

_Or, it may end very well._

Why were Jon and Gendry best friends? This was just super. She decided it was time for her leave the room and go downstairs, where everyone was. Sansa and Ygritte helped her find a dress and dare she say she actually looked a bit hot. She wondered what Gendry would think.

_Well, his previous girlfriend looked like a Victoria's Secret model. So...._

Even inner her was against Arya it seemed like. She was actually thinking about calling the whole stupid thing off when Sansa entered the room and stopped dead in her tracks. She was staring at her weirdly.

"Do I have something on my face?" Arya asked nervously, checking her reflection in the mirror.

"Arya," Sansa began, _here it comes. I should not be going to this stupid party. This is a stupid plan. Why did I agree to this? No one forced me to. Sansa is going to tell me that I look stupid,_ "you look so fucking hot. Gendry is going to have a heart attack."

_Wait, what?_

She did not expect that. She guessed she looked an okay amount of hot, but hearing Sansa say that she looked _fucking hot_  made her feel a whole lot better and a lot more confident.

"Really?"

"Hell yeah," Sansa said smiling. "Ned is going to be so jealous. You know his loss, look what you let go."

Right, Ned. That was what this whole thing was about.

_He did get engaged like a week after he broke up with you._

"Seriously, what is taking so long. We are already late." Jon's voice rang out.

"We'll be down in just a minute," Ygritte called back.

Ygritte entered their room and looked at her from head to toe. "Damn Girl you look so fucking sexy." Then she sniggered, "Poor Gendry."

*

"You look so adorable, Arya," Jon said smiling softly as he saw her.

Ygritte snorted. "Right adorable is the word."

As soon as they headed down, her gaze, like it was on autopilot went to Gendry, who was looking at his shoes. He was nervous she could tell. When he looked up it was as if everything stopped. It was just him and her.

Someone cleared their throat. It was Jon, who was now looking at them suspiciously. Gendry looked away blushing.

"This is going to be so much fun." Ygritte said looking at them knowingly.

She rolled her eyes. She was already nervous and to top it all off he looked so bloody delicious in that black suit of his that she was practically salivating.

_Control yourself, Arya._

"See, told you, not a creep," Jon said smiling broadly.

_I hate you._

She smiled weakly. She looked at Gendry, who was looking at her his eyes wide.

She frowned. "Are you okay?"

That seemed to break him out of some sort of haze that he was in. He cleared his throat. "Umm. Yeah. I'm great. You look beautiful, Arya."

She flushed. Not just from the compliment also from the way he said Arya. That reminded her of the dream and that in turn made her feel warm all over.

*

"Arya." Gendry said softly. "We are there."

They were in his car. Ygritte and Jon were with Sansa and Edric Storm, Sansa's boyfriend. So, obviously, that left her and her date. She was sure that it was fate that decided to puncture Edric's car.

_Yeah, if fate is also known as Ygritte._

Gendry told Edric and Sansa that they could come with them but Ygritte and Sansa both refused, as if they have been practicing speaking at the same time for years.

_Yeah, that was not suspicious at all._

"Arya," Gendry said again touching her hand gently.

She closed her eyes in frustration. She was getting more and more aroused every time he said her name,  and if he continued saying it, she would probably spontaneously combust. And his hand on hers were not helping matters. At all.

_Why are they so warm? And so fucking huge._

"Would you do me a favor?" Arya asked, taking a deep breath.

"Anything, Arya."

"Please stop calling me Arya." She said, her voice almost pleading. "Just for a few hours. Please."

His eyebrows shot up. "Why?"

"Just please."

"Okay, okay. What should I call you then?" He asked innocently.

"Anything other than Arya, really. It doesn't matter." Arya replied.

To her surprise Gendry smiled. "Okay, babe."

_Oh no._

His voice rang her head. _You feel so good, babe._

She felt another wave of lust hit her. "No, nope, definitely not babe."

Gendry was now smiling broadly.

_Does he know what I'm thinking about? Oh my God, he does. Doesn’t he?_

"Why?"

"No reason." She said hurriedly. "Just stop calling me Arya or babe."

"As M'lady commands."

Arya groaned. "Do not call me M'- uh never mind."

_This is definitely not going to end well._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title: I Keep Searching - Raphael Lake and Ben Fisher.  
> So what do you guys think? I'm sorry I'm so late. *sigh* Life. I wrote this for Valentine's Day but couldn't finish it then.  
> I hope you like it. Again I'm sorry for all my mistakes. Thank you so much for reading <3


	2. The Party

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for all your lovely comments and Kudos <3 You guys are the absolute best!  
> I hope you like this chapter too <3

****The Party** **

Jon secretly hated him. That was the only possible explanation as to why Jon would do something like this to him. Almost everyone knew that he liked Arya. Hell, Ygritte even teased him mercilessly and still Jon being Jon had no clue.

_Who told you to agree? You could have said no._

Could have, would have, should have. He was glad that he didn't say no. At the same time, he wasn't. Yes, he was going crazy. Always knew one way or another Arya Stark was going to drive him crazy. Speaking of crazy, Arya was looking crazy beautiful tonight. She always looked beautiful, but tonight she just looked…wow. How his eyes didn't come out their sockets, like in cartoons, he didn't know. At one point Jon caught him staring at Arya, and at that moment he really thought Jon was going to yell at him, at the very least, if he was being optimistic.

He looked at Arya, who was wringing her hands, she was clearly very nervous, and for some reason, she looked a little flushed.

"Are you well?" He asked concerned. If Arya was not comfortable with this they were going to go back he didn’t care what anyone else was going to say.

Arya frowned. "Umm, yeah. Why?"

"Nothing. It’s just that you look a little bit flushed."

It looked as if Arya was deciding between hiding her face in her hands, hitting him or opening the door of his car and running out and never coming back, but fortunately, she did neither.

"Oh. That. It’s nothing. You know King's Landing is hotter than Winterfell, and I am really not used to all the warm temperature." She looked awfully pleased with herself, and that confused him.

They sat there in silence as he looked at Arya.

_Yeah, that doesn't sound creepy at all._

"So, shall we?" Arya asked, looking at him.

"Sorry?" If he wasn't so engrossed, in admiring how beautiful she looked, he would have paid a little attention to what she was saying.

_Classy, man. Real classy._

"I said, shall we?" Arya said nodding towards the entrance of the Baratheon house.

He flushed. He was pretty sure that his face was red. "Yeah. Yes, of course."

They parked and looked around for Jon, Ygritte, Sansa, and Edric.

"Maybe they are inside?" Arya suggested.

"Yeah." He was pretty sure he was of the shade of a stupid beet. "Yeah. Let's go."

*

The party was absolutely magnificent. The only thing more spectacular than the party was Arya. He looked at his date and saw her laughing at something Ygritte had said. His heart was beating way too hard for its own good. It felt like his heart was trying to make its way to Arya like it belonged to her.  He had always liked Arya, but somewhere along the way, he knew there was something more. He couldn't exactly pinpoint the exact moment his feelings changed, but they did, and now he didn't know how to ignore them.

"You two are doing a pretty good job convincing that you are together," Jon said from beside him.

Gendry looked away from Arya, flummoxed. "Sorry?"

"You know the whole, you looking at her when she looks away, and her looking at you when you are looking somewhere else." Jon stated matter-of-factly.

Today was the day that he was going to develop a heart condition. First Arya, then the dress, then the proximity and now Jon telling him that she was looking at him too.

"I didn't, I wasn’t, umm.."

_And this is how it feels when your brain takes a vacation._

"It's cool. I didn't see it at first either until Ygritte, and Sansa pointed it out." Jon shrugged.

_Of course, they did._

*

Almost everyone was on the dance floor leaving Arya and him alone. Arya kept looking at everyone dancing so expectantly that he decided to ask her to dance even if it meant making a complete fool of himself because he could not dance. At all.

"Arya-" he started. He saw Arya closing her eyes, and taking in a deep breath as color flooded her cheeks.

_Yeah, what is up with that?_

"I told you not to call me that," Arya said through clenched teeth.

"I apologize, M'lady." He replied smiling, tipping his imaginary hat towards her.

Arya huffed in frustration, and he laughed.

"Shut up." She mumbled. He couldn't help but laugh harder. She looked so cute when she was annoyed.

"As I was about to ask you before, M'lady, would you like to-"

"Arya Stark." Someone interrupted.

Gendry looked up annoyed and then back at Arya. It was none other than Edric ‘Ned’ Dayne. He looked back to see if Arya was okay and found her smiling serenely. He knew that look.

_Uh oh._

"Ned." Arya said sweetly, "How have you been?"

Ned looked stunned to see Arya smiling at him, but he recovered quickly. "Great. It's good to see you out and about."

He knew Arya was about 2 minutes from throwing something at Ned. Gendry placed his arm around Arya’s shoulder and pulled her close. She tensed for a second, but then her hands were on his chest as she placed her head on his shoulder.

"Well, I could never say no to Gendry." She said raising her head and looking lovingly at him.

_Yup, definitely going to develop a heart condition._

Why couldn't his traitor heart for once be cool? Just once, he wasn't asking for much. Her hand was on his chest, he was pretty sure she could feel his heart hammering.

"Of course." Ned scoffed.

Gendry looked at him, his brows raised. Arya just ignored Ned instead moving closer to him.

"I mean, she never used to say no to you before either," Ned explained.

"He never asked me to do anything that he knew I would say no to," Arya said standing up. "And now if you would excuse us, my boyfriend and I are going to dance."

He knew this was all pretend but hearing Arya call him her boyfriend was turning him on a bit, and that was not good. Not good at all.

_This is not a real date. You are not her real boyfriend. Stop being a weirdo, and yeah, Jon and Arya are going to kill you if they knew what's going on in your head._

That made a little bit of blood to seep back into his brain.

"Uh, honey?" Arya said, sounding a little concerned.

After the initial shock of Arya calling him honey, which he was not going to lie, he liked, a lot, wore off,  he got up and offered her his hand. When she took his hand and looked so fondly at him, he couldn't help himself, "Yeah. Let's go, babe."

Arya's eyes narrowed as color rose in her cheeks. But her smile did not waiver, neither did she look away, as she moved closer to him. She was so close, so close, that he could...and then she stomped on his foot.

_She did tell you not to call her babe. So, completely your fault._

Her balance shifted slightly, and his other hand on its own accord went around her waist, pulling her closer to him making Arya gasp.

"I think, I should go." Ned said, clearing his throat.

Gendry completely forgot that Ned was still there. They moved apart, but they were still holding hands.

"Oh, you're still here?" Arya said, looking back at Ned, sounding slightly breathless. "I forgot."

Ned opened his mouth to say something, but before he could utter a single word, Arya said, "As I said before, my boyfriend and I are going to dance. Later, Ned."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So what do you guys think?  
> I am so, so sorry for updating this so late. I was stuck and then I went on vacation. Then I came back with new ideas, which I forgot in about 24 hrs xD  
> I wrote and re-wrote this chapter over 10 times and I'm still not satisfied with it, but here it is.  
> The next few chapters may be late too because I have quite a few exams next month. So I apologize in advance.  
> I promise I will complete this fic.  
> As always you guys are so freaking awesome!  
> I really hope you liked it. Again I'm sorry for all my mistakes. Thank you so much for reading <3 <3


	3. The Party II

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for all the amazing comments and Kudos <3 <3 It means so much to me.  
> You guys are absolutely awesome!

****The Party II** **

She wasn't going to lie, she absolutely forgot about Ned attending the party. On her quest to secretly look at Gendry all night long without making him notice so that he doesn't think that she was a weirdo or a creep. When Ned joined them, and Gendry pulled her closer to him, she definitely thought that she was going to need some kind of help to breathe properly. His hand on her waist just reminded her,  again, of how huge his hands were. She wasn't trying to offend Ned when she said that she forgot about him being there. She actually did.

"You don't really have to dance if you don't want to." Gendry's voice came from behind her, breaking her out of her thoughts.

She turned to look at him and suddenly all she could think about how tall he was. Why was he so tall? And fit. God, was he fit. And the shirt was practically sticking to his ridiculously perfect physique. She sometimes wondered if he had a six-pack or an eight-pack.

_Eight-pack. Definitely an Eight-pack._

Ugh. Stupid, perfect specimen of a man. Gendry tapped on her shoulder to catch her attention, and once again, as she looked up at him, she was reminded of the fact that he was so freaking tall. She was wearing stupid fucking four-inch heels, which were killing her feet, and yet she barely reached his shoulders. Suddenly an image flashed in her mind, she was standing on a stool to kiss him. She groaned. This was getting out of hand now. It wasn't as if she was dying to kiss him and even if she did kiss him, she will never stand on a stool. That’s just stupid.

_Yeah, hanging upside down like Spider-Man is way better. In rain. Ooh ooh or against the wall. Your legs around his waist, his hands on your a-_

"Hello. Earth to M'lady." Gendry said snapping his fingers in front of her.

"Uh, yeah. Sorry. Loud music."

_Yeah, it's not like you were thinking about kissing him or anything. Oh wait, you totally were._

Was there some kind of medication that would make her stupid brain stop commenting on anything and  everything. She could feel her face growing hot. Gendry's eyes narrowed. He must be thinking that she had some kind of a problem given the frequency with which she was blushing. She grabbed his hand again and turned to pull him towards the dance floor. Anything to make him look away from her stupid blushing face.

"I said-"

"I know what you said. Why would you think that?" She asked confused.

Gendry shrugged. "You wanted to blow off Ned, so I thought-"

"Well, you thought wrong."

She was very proud of herself for sounding so composed, and not like she was trying to picture him without his shirt.

_Well, now that you say it…_

It was now official. She was her own number one enemy. She finally, at least for a little while, stopped thinking about certain things that she shouldn't be thinking about because this was a fake date and he was her fake boyfriend, but no. She had to go and think that.

"Seriously, are you okay?" Gendry said, sounding a little worried.

"Yeah. Yeah. Let's dance." She said once again grabbing his hand and trying her best to ignore the reaction her body had whenever they touched each other.

*

As soon as they stepped on the dance floor the music turned slow.

_It's fate._

Fate has never been kind to her, why would it start now? She turned and saw Ygritte and Sansa, standing in front of the DJ, waving at her and grinning like maniacs. She groaned internally, as well as whooped because, well, now they can slow dance. She has officially lost it.

"We don't-" Gendry started.

"Do not complete that sentence." She replied annoyed. How could he think she doesn't want to dance with him. Leave how could he, the real question was why? Why would he think that?

_Maybe because you have been standing and thinking continuously instead of actually doing something._

Gendry chuckled. "Okay, I won't, M'lady."

Arya shook her head and turned before Gendry could see the small smile playing on her lips.

__*_ _

"Fair warning," Gendry said, as Arya tried to prepare herself not to react too much when he placed his hands on her waist, placing his hands around her waist, _should have worn like ten coats for his touch to be less affective instead of this barely there fabric,_ "I don't know how to dance. So, if I step on your toes, I apologize in advance."

"No worries," She mumbled as they started to sway.

She was trying her absolute best not to think about how warm his hands were or how good he smelled, and she was one hundred percent failing.

_So you are obviously not trying your absolute best._

"Have I told you how beautiful you look because you do, look absolutely beautiful I mean." Gendry said, his voice slightly lower making her stomach do little back-flips.

Once again heat rose up her neck, and she blushed. She needed to stop blushing. She never blushed, well this much, but her stupid body was hell-bent on betraying her.

"You look beautiful too."

__....._ _

"Thank you, M'lady." Gendry laughed. She moved forward just when he pulled her closer resulting in her losing her balance and she crashed against his chest making Gendry stagger. His arms went around her as he tried to steady them. Their eyes locked and everything else just vanished. It was only them. Him and her. Her heart was beating wildly.

"I thought I was supposed to be the bad dancer." He murmured.

"I guess I'm rubbing off on you." She replied, making Gendry cough, which he was obviously doing to cover up his laugh, and she winced internally.

_Well, that's just an unfortunate choice of words._

Gendry mumbled something, which suspiciously sounded like 'I wish', as he put some distance between them.

"Do you want to?" she nodded toward their seat.

"Nope," He said, once again placing his hands on her waist and pulled her close. "Seeing as I am the better dancer of the two of us it would be incredibly rude of me not to teach you."

Arya snorted. "It would be."

They were close once more, but this time, there was no accidental staggering. They were moving like they had been doing this for years. There was a familiarity, a comfort between them and something else, something more, something that made her skin tingle.

"I love this song." He said

What song? Was there a song playing? She didn't know. She just knew that he was so close that she could feel every slight rise and fall of his chest. And that his eyes were the most beautiful shade of blue she had ever seen. Her eyes dropped to his lips and she gulped.

"You do?" She said looking back up at him. His eyes were focused intently on her, his fingers tracing small circles on her back, making her feel warm all over.

"I do." He said, after a moment, his voice low. His gaze lowered to her lips and then back to her eyes, a silent question in them.

_Yes! Hell Yes!_

And as if he heard what she was thinking, he leaned forward-

"It's getting late. I think we all should go. We have to prepare for the anniversary too after all." Jon's voice came and they jumped apart.

_AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA_

She looked at Gendry, who was trying to compose himself, and then back at Jon who was looking at his phone. Ygritte was behind him.

"I tried to stop him. Sorry." Ygritte mouthed.

Arya shook her head, trying to get her brain and there by trying to get her ability to speak back, i.e. to formulate sentences that was not ‘AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA’.

"So, shall we?" Jon asked finally looking up from his phone and then his gaze narrowed, darting between Gendry and her. "What did I miss?"

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So what do you guys think? I hope you like it. Again I'm sorry for all my mistakes. Thank you so much for reading <3  
> And I can never say this enough, you all are sooo AWESOME!


	4. Surprise Party

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for all your lovely comments and Kudos <3   
> I hope you like this chapter too <3

****Surprise Party** **

It has been almost a week since the party, and he still couldn't stop thinking about Arya. The way her breath hitched when he placed his hand on her waist, the way her beautiful gray eyes darkened when they were almost about to kiss.

_The way she scowled at Jon and the whole way back. That was cute._

Yes, it was, but then anything she does was cute to him. Right now she was trying to stick something on a poster, her nose scrunched up, her brows furrowed, she looked adorable.

"Oh boy, you have got it so bad," Ygritte said amused.

That was great. That was just what he needed. Running commentary from Ygritte, as if his brain wasn't doing a bang-up job of that.

_Rude._

"So are you just going to stare at her or you know, just throwing it out there, help us with the decorations." Ygritte teased.

Gendry groaned. "I am helping." He said pointing towards the lights that he had hung on the tree in the Stark backyard. "Tell me again, how is this a surprise if Mr. and Mrs. Stark know what we are doing?"

"Don't tell me you forgot?" Ygritte said amused.

He looked at her confused. They were planning for a surprise midnight party for Mr. and Mrs. Stark because the other party was the next day.

"Oh my god! You did." Ygritte started laughing.

What the hell was he forgetting?

_Tomorrow is Mr. and Mrs. Stark's anniversary. Check._

All the Stark kids were planning to tell their parents something, the poster.

_Oh shit!_

"Ding ding ding. He remembers. I want to tell Robb so badly that you actually forgot."

"Please don't." Gendry pleaded.

How could he forget? Robb told them a week ago. He was so happy for his friend. It was official now. He was a horrible person and a horrible friend.

_Yup._

Robb and Jeyne were expecting their first child, and it would be Mr. and Mrs Stark's first grandchild, Robb and Jeyne were doing the whole 'surprise you are going to be grandparents' thing. How could he forget that? What the hell was wrong with him?

_Oh, so much. Let me begin with-_

Well, in his defense, he did remember this morning when he started working, but then he saw Arya and then the logical, and he cannot emphasize logical enough, part of his brain went on vacation.

"Don't look so gloomy. I won't say a word. I understand what it feels like." Ygritte smiled knowingly.

He opened his mouth to speak, but Ygritte cut him off. "Just ask her out already. You two have been dancing around each other for so long now, honestly, it was amusing at first, but now- eh, who am I kidding, still amusing." She chuckled.

"What if she doesn't want to?" He asked not looking at Ygritte, but instead at his shoes. Dirt is fascinating at times like this.

He thought Arya liked him too, but what if he was reading too much into it? What if-

"Oh, honey." She patted his cheeks lovingly then stood on her tip-toes to kiss his cheek. "Just ask her out and you will know how wrong you are."

*

"So what were you guys talking about?" Arya asked looking everywhere but at him.

"Nothing." He shrugged, but all he wanted to say was you.

Arya finally looked at him with her brows raised. "Didn't look like nothing from where I was standing."

"I didn't know you were looking at us." He said genuinely curious and a little happy.

_Liar._

Okay, a lot happy. Arya looked like she regretted every single thing she had ever said and done in her life.

"I wasn't. Jon told me." She said nonchalantly.

And the Titanic of happiness that was floating in his heart sank. Here he was getting all happy that maybe she had been sneaking glances at him like he had been doing,

_I didn't know staring was also known as 'sneaking glances'._

Not the point he was trying to make. What he wanted to say was that maybe she was a bit interested too.

"Okay, so maybe I looked like once or twice to check if you were doing your job or not," Arya confessed.

And just like that the Titanic of happiness sailed again. He couldn't help the smile that took over his face.

"So-"

"So-"

They smiled at each other.

"You first, M'lady." He said just to frustrate her, and he was not disappointed.

"Stop calling me that." She said rolling her eyes.

She was nervous about something, maybe about what she was about to say because she was chewing her lower lip, she did that whenever she was nervous, and all he wanted to do was take over.

_Yeah, you sound like a cannibal._

He meant bite not chew.

_Still sound like a cannibal._

All he meant was he really, really wanted to kiss her. Ever since Jon interrupted them during the party he couldn't get it out of his head. Not just kiss her, spend time with her-

_You already spend the majority of your time with Arya and Jon._

More time with Arya. Getting to know her even more. Trying to make her roll her eyes at him, trying to make her smile and laugh. Ygritte was right, he did have it bad and he should ask Arya out on a date. A real one.

*

They were standing in front of the old Weirwood tree waiting for Mr. and Mrs. Stark, holding the posters that they made.

"Okay everyone, turn your posters when you see Mom and Dad," Robb announced.

"Oh really, Robb. We didn't know. We thought we were going to show them blank unwritten side only." Arya rolled her eyes.

Gendry snorted.

"It wasn't that good of a joke Gendry." Robb scoffed moving to take his place beside Jeyne.

"He doesn't really care about the joke, Robb." Ygritte said in a stage whisper.

"A. Shut up, Ygritte, and B. Yes, it was Robb." Gendry said and winked at Arya. He was delighted when she went pink.

_Well, that's a good sign._

Yes, it is. Just as he was about to ask Arya on a date Mr. and Mrs. Stark entered the backyard, blindfolded, Bran holding their hands so that they won't fall down.

"We know you were planning this. It's not a surprise." Mrs. Stark said chuckling as Bran removed their blindfolds.

As soon as they saw the posters they smiled broadly and Bran started laughing as he recorded everything. Gendry frowned. He thought this plan was cute, and the way Mr. and Mrs. Stark were grinning and hugging Robb and Jeyne they thought so too. Maybe Bran was with Jojen.

_That would explain it._

"So Mom, Dad, what do you think about the surprise?" Robb said grinning like a school boy who just showed his parents his report card in which he got all As.

"I think," Mr Stark started, a small smile playing on his lips, "that you all have seen Star wars way too many times." Pointedly looking at the posters they were holding.

Gendry frowned and looked down and then at everyone. When he finally saw what Mr. Stark was talking about he couldn't help it, he burst out laughing. So did Arya followed by everyone. Well, everyone except Robb, who was turning red because the poster when arranged with how they were standing read, GOING TO BE GRANDPARENTS YOU ARE.

"Who the hell was in charge of arranging these?" He said angrily.

"You were, Robb," Jon said wiping his tears because he was laughing so hard. Gendry didn't think it was possible, but Robb turned an even deeper shade of red.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So what do you guys think? I really hope you liked it. Again I'm sorry for all my mistakes. Thank you so much for reading <3 <3


	5. Anniversary Party

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for the lovely comment and all the Kudos guys <3  
> You guys are awesome!!

****Anniversary Party** **

She was really getting tired of parties. Even if last night was more of a surprise party, she still dressed up, well made a bit of an effort, really. It wasn't as if she was trying to impress anyone. She just wanted to look presentable, for her family.

_If you wore pants, instead of this dress, they would have been on fire._

No, she wasn't lying, she really wanted to look good because...because, yes, because Bran was recording everything and she wanted to look good for her future niece or nephew.

_L.I.A.R._

She tuned her inner voice out and concentrated on searching for the one person for whom she definitely did not make any kind of effort.

*

The venue was absolutely beautiful, actually enchanting described it much more perfectly. The theme of the party was winter, and everything was blue, silver or white. It looked like something out of a fairy tale. There were floor to ceiling mirrors, and the reflections made everything seem even more magical. She remembered how her mouth dropped open when she finally saw the decorations.

The party was in full swing and most of the people, including her parents, were on the dance floor. She couldn't help but smile when she looked at them. She didn't know when or if she would settle down with someone, but one thing was definitely clear she wanted what her parents had. After all these years they still looked absolutely, ridiculously, and nauseatingly in love. Dancing near them were Sansa and Edric. Sansa had her arms around Edric and was smiling like her face was stuck like that somehow. She was happy for Sansa, Ed was a good guy. Arya got why Sansa was such a happily ever after person, they had a great example of how a relationship should be.

"So M'lady, would you still like me to teach you how to dance?" Gendry's voice came from beside her. She could hear the laughter in his voice.

Arya sighed. "You know you can stop calling me M'lady."

"Can't call you by your name. Can't call you something affectionate. Can't call you M'lady." He sighed dramatically. "You are making this tough. I should start calling you 'Oy'."

_How do you tell someone that you asked them not to call you by your name because you had a sex dream about them and every time they said your name all you wanted to do was basically launch yourself at them? Hmm. Weird I cannot think of a way._

Arya, despite wanting not to, and then cursing her body when it did, went red. "You can call me Arya." She mumbled.

He looked slightly confused. "Why? What changed?"

She took care of the problem with the help of a useful little instrument,

_Something that starts with a V, perhaps._

Potato potahto, tomato tomahto. So bottom line, she was okay with him calling her by her name because she really got it out of her system.

"Okay, Arya it is then." He smiled, and her stomach clenched.

_Nope. Definitely not out of the system yet._

His head between her thighs and his deep voice calling her name as he drove her crazy flashed through her mind. When is she going to forget that dream?

_Never. Never sounds good._

"On second thought," Gendry looked thoughtfully at her, "I'm going to keep calling you M'lady. It suits you."

Her first thought was, oh thank God, which was soon followed by, why, god why?

"If M'lady was going to 'suit' anyone, it would have to be Mom or Sansa or even Jeyne," Arya replied.

"Why?"

"Because they are proper Ladies." She explained.

Gendry looked like he was trying to do his best not to roll his eyes. "What makes you say that you aren't?"

"Well, for one, have you seen them?" Arya said incredulously.

"No, I have not." Gendry said, his gaze fixed on her, making her stomach do flips.

"Well, okay."

_A+ reply._

He didn't look away, and it felt like all the air had been sucked out of the room. She wanted to look away because her mind was, at that moment, playing some very x-rated scenarios and she was pretty sure it was very obvious on her face because Gendry was the first one to look away.

"Come on." He said, extending his hand towards her.

She looked at his hand, then back at him, then back at his hand.

"Relax. I just want to show you something." Gendry said gently.

She hesitated because she knew what happened when they touch. Sometimes, and she was not trying to be dramatic, she could see the sparks fly.

_How can you say that and not be dramatic? You know you should get some nachos or something because you are providing all the cheese here._

She finally took his hand and as soon as their fingers brushed she shivered. He looked at their joined hands, then at her for a moment, with a small smile tugged her towards the floor to ceiling mirror, this one was in one of the corners of the room. She looked at him confused when he gently asked her to turn so that she was facing the mirror, and stood behind her. He was not touching her, and yet she could feel the warmth of him.

"Tell me what you see?" He asked softly.

"A dragon." She replied wryly.

Gendry looked at her pointedly before leaning forward a bit so that he was now at the same level as she was, their faces side by side. God, he has to know how hot that was. His mouth near her ear as both of them looked at each other in the mirror.

"What do you see?" He whispered, his warm breath on her skin making her shudder.

He was so close. How could he expect her to answer that when all her senses were only focused on him.

She gulped. "Us?" She replied unsure, after a moment she added, "Why?"

"And?" He prompted his voice was lower like a caress against her skin. God, if he didn't step back soon she was going to do something very, very stupid or very, very brave, stupid if he didn't like her and then she would end up looking like an idiot, at the very least, and brave, if he felt the same way she did, well then someone had to make the first move.

"And what?" She breathed out.

"You know what I see?"

She shook her head and saw her face getting dangerously close to his lips, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. He must know what this was doing to her.

"Open your eyes, M'lady." He murmured, and her eyes fluttered open. "I see one of the most beautiful women that I have ever seen or will ever see."

Her breath hitched, and she caught his eyes in the mirror again. He was smiling gently, but the look in his eyes, it was the one that mirrored her own, was desire.

"Hey, Gendry." She said softly.  

"Yeah." He breathed.

"I- I.. we-"

"What are you guys doing?" Robb's voice came from somewhere.

She closed her eyes in frustration, and Gendry stepped back, she immediately felt cold without his warmth.

"Nothing. I was showing Arya something." Gendry shrugged. It didn't feel like he was affected by whatever this was between them, but as soon as she looked at him she knew she was wrong.

Robb narrowed his eyes. "By standing so close?"

"Who are you? Sherlock Holmes?" Arya replied, slightly, _okay, a lot,_ frustrated. "Fine. My zipper kind of went down, so Gendry was helping me before something embarrassing happened."

Robb went red. "Sorry." Then looked at Gendry, "Sorry, man. Also, you guys should have gone a little more secluded, anyone could have seen you."

Arya looked around. They were in the corner most part of the room, and no one was nearby because normal people like to enjoy the party.

She looked at Robb with her brows raised.

"Fine. Fine. I'm sorry." Robb apologized. "Ned said that you were here and- never mind. Sorry."

Robb with one last apologetic glance at them Robb made his way back to Jeyne.

“Your dress doesn’t have a zipper,” Gendry said amused..

Arya sniggered. “Robb doesn’t know that.”

 Gendry chuckled. "Thank you for saving my life."

"Right now the only person whose life is in danger is Ned." She said angrily, remembering Robb mentioning him.

A few moments ago she was vibrating with need, but now here she was vibrating with anger.

"Hey, it's nothing," Gendry said calmly. "Besides, I wanted to ask you something."

"Yeah." She said distracted.

"Okay, here goes. I really like you and you know that, what I mean is I really like you, that doesn't sound different...this is awkward, okay, what I wanted to ask was," he took a deep breath, "Will you go on a date with me? A real one."

"Yeah." She answered, still distracted.

_Wait, what?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So what do you guys think? Inspiration struck and I wrote this in one sitting xD   
> So excited for Arya x Gendry week 2018! So many amazing prompts.   
> I really hope you liked it. Again I'm sorry for all my mistakes. Thank you so much for reading <3 <3


	6. The Real Date

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much guys for your love and support <3 It means so much to me.

**The Real Date**

She still couldn't believe she said yes when she was distracted.

_Well, could have been worse. You could have said no._

Thank God she said yes. Of course, she would have said yes, even after if she had said no, but then Gendry would have thought that she was doing this out of their long friendship and pity, that she could not handle because God knew how much she wanted to.

_Pretty sure more people than God know._

This reminded her of Ygritte and Sansa's reaction. Sansa screamed so loudly, in excitement, that Jon and Robb ran to their room with a plate and a trophy in their hands, slightly out of breath and wildly looking around the room thinking someone or something was in Arya and Sansa's room. What they were planning to do with a plate and a trophy, in case something was there, she had no idea. Ygritte's reaction was the one she didn't expect at all. Ygritte smiled and hugged her. Arya expected a little teasing or something, but nothing, absolutely nothing. Ygritte just looked incredibly happy, like this was the news she had been waiting for a long time.

"Have you decided what you are going to wear?" Sansa asked, sitting at the edge of her bed.

Arya closed her book. Frankly, she didn't even read anything after the first word, she was way too engrossed in her thoughts.

She shrugged. "Honestly, I'm tired of dressing up, and it's Gendry, so anything really."

Sansa shook her head, but Arya didn't know what the big deal was.

_Yeah, it's not like you have been sorting your clothes in order of how easier it would be to take them off just in case things went well._

Guilty, but still, it was Gendry. He had seen in her almost everything, _except nothing,_  yeah, but, then again, she wasn't planning on going naked. What she meant was, he has seen her in some weird things, even a sack once. It was a bet, and that was all she wanted to say about it.

"You must have thought of something. I know you are excited to go out with him." Sansa said.

"Who said I'm excited?" Most probably she did.

Sansa gave her a pointed look. "We are sharing a room, Arya, and if I remember correctly I woke you up from an interesting dream-"

"I get it," Arya mumbled. "Fine. Yes, I am excited, and after spending hours, and hours thinking about it I'm going to casual."

"But-"

"No buts. He knows how I am. I know how he is. We have known each other forever. I'm pretty sure he wants me to be comfortable, and besides, I like to be comfortable. I'm so fucking tired of wearing those stupid dresses." Arya said.

Before Sansa could reply her phone buzzed. She looked and smiled seeing Gendry's text.

_**G: I'll pick you up at 5.** _

She typed her reply.

_**A: I'll be waiting.** _

A second later, her phone buzzed again.

_**G: I'm very excited and a little scared.** _

Arya smiled.

_**A: That makes the two of us.** _

"I was wrong, you know," Sansa said, a smile in her voice.

Frowning Arya looked up at her sister. Sansa got up to leave.

"Both of you are going to be just fine," Sansa said happily as she left the room. Leaving Arya confused.

Fine with what?

*

She was waiting for Gendry. Why the hell was he not here yet?

_Maybe because he said 5, and it's not 5 yet._

She hated it when her brain went all logical on her. As the time started to grow closer, her anxiety reached a new high. What if this was a mistake? What if this did not go well and things would get awkward between them? She liked Gendry both as a friend and more than a friend. She didn't know what to do. She has never been this nervous, and excited, for a date before.

"I see we both have the same problem," Gendry said amused.

She looked up at him, startled. There was still 15 minutes to go.

"Talk about yourself. I don't have any problem." She said as nonchalantly as she could because inside she was anything but calm.

"I’m sorry M’lady. I misunderstood. You were very obviously waiting for the garbage truck." He deadpanned.

"Obviously." Arya agreed, trying and failing to hide her smile.

He looked absolutely, _delicious _,__ fabulous and yes, delicious too. He always did, but there was something about Gendry in a simple button-down shirt and jeans that made her all tingly.

"So shall we, M'lady?" He said, nodding towards his car. "You look beautiful."

"Thank you." She mumbled her cheeks went pink. "Yes, we shall, M'lord."

Gendry snorted. "We all know I wouldn't be a Lord in any timeline."

Arya rolled her eyes. "If I can be a Lady then you can be a Lord."

He said nothing. She thought she had somehow offended him, so she looked up. He was looking at her with the softest expression that made her heart clench.

"So where are we going?" She asked looking away. This date hasn't even started yet, and here she was feeling things.

He cleared his throat. "Uh, yeah. It's a surprise. I hope you like it."

*

"I don't think I have had this much fun on a date before," Arya shouted over the distance between them.

On the list of things she thought they would do on their first date, and she had thought a lot about it, a lot, she never in a million years would have thought paintball would be it. And that was what she thought made it so amazing. They were hiding behind trees. Arya looked at him grinning like a maniac.

"Neither have I." He shouted back as he took another shot at the rival team.

If these games were any indication of how well they worked together, well then she would say that they would be just fine because they were absolutely kicking ass.

She peeked out and saw that only one more person was left. Arya looked at Gendry and nodded. She charged out, Gendry behind her. They shot simultaneously and that was it. They won.

She dropped the gun, turned around and threw her arms around Gendry. His arms went around her as he lifted her off the ground.

"Congrats guys. You were awesome." Came a voice.

She turned her arms still around Gendry's neck as he gently placed her down, but his hands were still around her waist.

"Thank you." She said smiling, pulling her hands down.

He nodded. Then gave Gendry a look which, for some reason, made Gendry chuckle, and he stepped back. With another smile the man left.

"What was that?" She asked, slightly confused.

"Nothing," Gendry replied, still smiling.

"Gendry."

"It was a 'she is amazing and you are lucky' look." He explained.

"Well, that's stupid."

"He wasn't wrong."

"No, he wasn't," Arya replied cheekily. "But so are you." She added softly.

There it was again, that look. That look made her want to kiss the hell out of him till they were both out of breath.

"Um, yeah. We should probably go." Gendry said, clearing his throat. "We have a reservation."

"Where?" She asked, trying to think about something other than kissing him.

_Yeah. Good luck with that._

"Everywhere." He answered sheepishly.

"You didn't." She said laughing.

"Well, I didn't know what you would like to eat today, so, to be safe, I made reservations in all your favorite restaurants." He replied defensively, his face a little pink.

He was adorable.

"It was probably stupid-"

"No. It's cute." She said standing on her tip-toes to kiss his cheek. She turned before he could see her blushing. "Let's go to Smallwood’s."

*

They were having a pretty good time. She wasn't lying when she said that this has been the best date she has ever been on. Maybe it was because they have known each other for such a long time that they didn't need to pretend. She enjoyed talking to him or even being with him. She had always felt like he understood her like no one else did, well except Jon.

"So are you ever going to tell me why you don't want me to call you by your name?" Gendry asked. A small smile quirked his lips.

She choked on the piece of chicken that she was eating and he silently passed her a glass of water.

_Please do tell him._

She wiped her mouth with the napkin and reached for her wine glass. She saw amusement dancing in his eyes.

"Do you really want to know?" She asked, taking a sip of wine and leaning back in her chair.

_Why would he have asked if he didn't want to know?! Did you hurt your head or something?_

He leaned forward placing his hands on the table. "Yes, I absolutely do, M'lady."

She leaned forward too, mimicking his stance, her gaze fixed on him. There must be some problem with the air conditioning because she was suddenly feeling warm and yet she could feel the goosebumps rising on her arms.

"Maybe one day." Her voice came out husky.

He said nothing just continued to look at her like he didn't hear what she said. It was like they were under some kind of spell.

"I'll be waiting for that day." He murmured. Reaching out, his fingers brushed gently against her hand, and she shivered. She was absolutely wrong, the air conditioning was working perfectly, if anything, it was working too perfectly.

She gulped. "You might not have to wait that long."

Seeing how the date was going it was going to be very soon. Someone cleared their throat, and the moment was broken. Broken, but not gone. They didn't jerk apart like they used to, neither did he remove his hand from hers.

"Would you like some dessert, sir? Ma’am?" Asked their host.

Her mind immediately went on Gendry as soon as he mentioned dessert. Yeah, she would love to have some dessert i.e. Gendry.

"M'lady?" Gendry said, shaking her hand gently.

She coughed.

_Yeah, cough like that's going to hide the fact that you have gone red because-_

"Anything with chocolate really." She said smiling.

_Gendry too? Or especially him._

Oh God. What has taken over her? She was never like this. This was getting out of hand now. She didn't even listen to what he ordered because she was way too busy trying to get herself under control.

She came back to reality when his fingers brushed against her knuckles. She looked up and saw Gendry smiling gently and suddenly his gaze shifted to somewhere over her shoulder, most probably the entrance, and his eyes went wide, before ducking under the table hurriedly. She frowned. She turned to see who caused such a reaction and found her own eyes going wide before she followed Gendry's suit and ducked under the table. It was Jon and Ygritte.

"Well, shit." They said simultaneously.

"Did you tell Jon?" He asked slightly nervous.

She looked at him exasperated. "If I did would I be under the stupid table right now?"

"I thought you were trying to, you know, make me feel less like an idiot." He replied sheepishly.

She snorted. "No, and no, I did not because in his mind I'm still 12. Why didn't you?"

Gendry rubbed his face and sighed. "I tried, but he has been a nervous wreck this past week, I have absolutely no idea why, and I didn't want to make it worse. And then I thought if this goes well we can tell him together," he looked at her and added seriously, "because he won't kill me if you are there."

She couldn't help it, she laughed. He was not wrong.

"What do we do now?" He asked nervously.

"Well, we cannot spend the whole night under the table, and it's not like they will be seated right next to us." She reasoned.

Gendry hummed in agreement. Gathering courage she peeked out the stupid acorn patterned tablecloth then hurriedly dropped it and looked at Gendry.

"Good news is that they are not exactly seated at the next table. Bad news is that they will definitely notice us when we get out." She said in a hushed tone.

"That is just great," Gendry muttered.

They sat there in silence. After a while, Gendry peeked out and sighed.

"You know they just got here right?" Gendry looked at her confused. "They are not going to leave right away. It's a restaurant. They are here to eat." She explained chuckling.

"Uh." Someone's voice came from above, and they both froze.

They both looked out and saw that the dessert they ordered has finally come. They told him hushed tone that they would eat the piece of cake under the table. He gave them a weird look then shrugged like this was not the weirdest thing he had seen there.

She took a bite of the chocolate cake, as soon as the flavor hit her, her eyes closed on their own accord and she moaned. It was absolutely delicious. She opened her eyes and saw Gendry staring at her, his gaze heated. She went red.

"It's really good." She mumbled.

He cleared his throat. "Yeah. I got that."

They finished the rest of the cake in silence. Their waiter came after a while and took the plate and asked them if they would like anything else. Both of them refused.

It has been over forty-five minutes. Jon and Ygritte must be on their way of ordering dessert now.

"How much are they planning to eat?" Gendry said frustrated.

She snorted. "Well, we've been here one and a half hour so..."

"Out of which forty-five minutes have been spent under this table." He looked at her apologetically. "This isn't how I wanted this date to go."

Arya reached out and squeezed his hand, trying to ignore the sudden jolt she felt whenever she touched him. "This has been one of the best dates of my life, Gendry, even with this, eh, who am I kidding, especially because of this."

His ears turned red. "We should see if they at least ordered a dessert or something."

"Why does it matter? It's not like we are going to crawl out if they haven't."

"That is a great idea. I'm up for it if you are." He grinned.

"Stupid." She replied smiling.

He looked out and immediately turned to look at her, grinning broadly he said, "Arya, you are going to want to see this."

She frowned, but looked out to see what was it that she just had to see. As soon as she did her mouth fell open and tears of happiness filled her eyes.

Jon was one knee in front of Ygritte.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So what do you guys think?   
> I'm so sorry for updating this so late. I don't even know what happened. I have absolutely no good reason. I'm sorry.  
> I really hope you liked it. Again I'm sorry for all my mistakes. Thank you so much for reading <3 <3


	7. Jon and Ygritte's Engagement Party

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for all your beautiful comments and Kudos.   
> You guys are the absolute best! <3

****Jon and Ygritte's Engagement Party** **

"And then he went down on one knee," Ygritte said, looking lovingly at Jon. "I did consider saying no for a moment." Ygritte joked.

Jon and Ygritte told everyone that they were engaged the very next morning. Last night all she and Gendry wanted to do was to go and congratulate Jon and Ygritte but knew that Jon would become suspicious and instead of enjoying his engagement his mind would be stuck on them. So they decided to wait. And now Jon and Ygritte were telling everyone, and she couldn't help but smile. She hoped that she sold being surprised, but then again, she was so happy that her excitement must have masked her lack of surprise.

Last night was everything she hoped it would be and much more. She didn't know why she thought it would be a bad idea.

_Because you are an idiot._

She looked at Gendry who was sitting beside Jon, he gave her a slow smile, and her heart decided that it was indeed going to apply for a drummer or something like that because it was beating so hard. Just a smile and this was her reaction. She didn't want to think about what would happen if they moved forward.

_Didn't think? Really. What were you doing last night with your vib-_

TMI. Last night after Jon and Ygritte left, they paid their bill and left in a hurry. He didn't even kiss her. Not that she wanted to-

_Are you taking courses in lying or something?_

She sighed. Of course, she wanted to. But Gendry like the proper gentleman, stood with his hands in his pockets, smiling and said Goodnight to her. Not even a kiss on the cheek. Come on!

She thought the date went well, unless, she was reading the signals wrong, and he did message her saying how much he wanted to take her on a date again, so-

_Wow, if only over-thinking helped anyone._

"Arya." Jon's voice cut through the dense fog of over-thinking that was hell-bent on occupying every space of her mind.

"Yeah. Sorry, I was thinking about something." Arya said smiling. She saw Ygritte and Sansa looking at her knowingly and Gendry trying to hide a smile. She groaned.

"It's okay, so I was about to tell you guys something." He turned, grinning, to look at everyone, then looked at her again. "You are going to love this, Arya."

Ygritte rolled her eyes. "It wasn't that funny, Jon."

"Yes, it was." Jon retorted.

"He is never going to tell it." Theon yawned.

"Shut up, Theon," Jon said good-naturedly.

"Tell the fucking story, Jon," Robb said.

"Okay, you guys wouldn't believe what happened yesterday when we were at Smallwood's," Jon said, and she saw Gendry freeze. She wanted to reassure him that Jon wasn't talking about them, but he kept looking at the floor guiltily like he had stolen Jon's favorite toy. "There was this couple who was under the table the whole night." Jon continued, laughing.

_Looks like you were wrong._

She looked up and saw that Gendry was looking at her, but he looked close to bursting out with laughter instead of nervous. And she felt her own lips twitch.

"We asked the waiter what their deal was," Jon said. "He said they wanted privacy because of the serious do-me eyes they were giving each other like you get any privacy under the table."

"That was it?" Robb said, shaking his head. "Ygritte was right. It’s not that funny."

_Damn it, Jon. And screw you, Mr. Waiter._

She felt her face grow hot and she saw Gendry going red too.  He wouldn't look at her. He was looking at his shoes again.

She wasn't giving Gendry do-me eyes.

__..…_ _

_Sure you were not._

Okay, so maybe she was. Have they seen Gendry? Anyone who meets him gets do-me eyes. Then she came to a striking realization, Jon said they, not the girl. They. It felt like there was a full-blown opera performance going on inside her which was reaching its peak.

She tried to keep the smile off her face but failed. She looked up and saw Gendry smiling shyly, his face still red. What she didn't notice was that Ygritte and Sansa were observing them.

"You have got to be kidding me," Ygritte said laughing. "What are the odds."

Gendry threw a pleading look at Ygritte, but she ignored him.

"What?" Jon looked at her confused. "You were there."

Sansa started laughing. Ygritte looked at Arya, and she shook her head.

"Nothing, honey," Ygritte said sweetly, kissing Jon's cheek. "I forgot. I was so excited about our engagement that it skipped my mind."

Arya sighed in relief and saw Gendry doing the same. They wanted to tell Jon. They will tell Jon, but Jon finding out like this, next day of his engagement didn't seem like the right time.

Jon frowned. "But you said it wasn't that funny."

"Did I?" Ygritte feigned ignorance.

"Yes-" Jon started, but Ygritte cut him off with a kiss. Ygritte pulled back grinning, wiping his lips with her thumb.

"What was that for?" Jon asked, looking slightly dazed.

"Can't a girl kiss her fiance?" Ygritte replied coyly.

As if on queue, Jeyne ran towards the bathroom. Her palm over her mouth, Robb followed a second later to see if Jeyne was okay.

"I was going to say that this is nauseating, but I think Jeyne did it better," Theon said chuckling.

"Shut up, Theon." Jon and Ygritte said in unison, rolling their eyes.

*

Yet another party. Arya sighed. It was like they were living in a soap opera, every day a party so that they can dress up and have 'moments'. All she wanted was to spend some time with Gendry, alone and far, far away from her siblings, until she and Gendry tell them. Because until then they will have to pretend to be just friends.

_You are still just friends. It was one date, and you guys haven't even kissed yet._

Well, it could be considered their second date, seeing how the first one was when they went to the Valentine's day party.

It's not like she was not happy for Jon and Ygritte, no one was happier than her, well, except Jon and Ygritte, of course, but she was just growing tired of parties. It was like ever since she came back from Braavos, after finally completing her degree, all she was doing was attending parties.

"Hey, Arya. You ready?" Sansa said entering their room.

"Yeah." She replied smoothening the green silk dress that she was wearing. It had a thigh-high slit, which made her legs look wonderful, at least to her.

*

He was so happy for Jon and Ygritte. Jon was his best friend and Ygritte was like a sister to him and he could not imagine two people more perfect for each other than Jon and Ygritte.

"So," Edric said from beside him.

Gendry looked at him confused.

"I mean how was the date under the table?" Edric teased.

Gendry groaned. "Sansa told you?"

Edric chuckled. "Who else would? Wait, no, actually Ygritte told me too, but Sansa did it first."

"It was actually really good. We had a great time. Yes, including under the table." Gendry said.

Yesterday was one of the, no scratch that, it was the best time he had had on a date. Not only was Arya beautiful, smart, funny, _an angel sent from heaven,_ she also seemed to like his company, in a date kind of way because they always enjoyed each others company, that was never the problem, and it was absolutely impossible not to have a good time with Arya. She was one of his closest friends. That was what scared him a bit, what if the date didn't go well and it became awkward. He did not want to risk their friendship just because he had a crush.

_Just a crush, huh. You are getting worse at lying._

Well, he was never good at lying so that's that. But yeah crush or some indefinable,

_Like loooooovvvveee._

Whatever one wants to call it. It was definitely something romantic. So yes, he was a bit nervous.

_Understatement of the century._

They had a great time last night. From going Paintballing to the dinner, and the dinner reminded him of Arya biting into the cake and moaning, God it was as if every drop of blood was racing down. Just remembering that slightly turned him on.

_Slightly? What is it today? Understatement day._

Okay, well.

"Gendry, man you have got to stop thinking whatever you are thinking," Edric said chuckling.

His face went red, and he looked guiltily at Edric. "I wasn't- that wasn't- I mean- it was, it cake-"

_Stop talking._

Edric was now laughing so hard that he was sure that he was turning even a brighter shade of red.

"What are you guys laughing about?" Sansa asked, joining them.

Edric sobered up a bit to kiss Sansa's cheek. "You look beautiful, sweetheart."

Sansa blushed prettily. "Thank you, but you didn't answer my question."

Edric gave him a sideways glance, a teasing smile on his lips. Gendry glared at him.

"Nothing, just something about cake," Edric said.

The rest he doesn't remember because that was the moment he saw Arya and he absolutely forgot that other people exist. Arya looked like a Goddess. He was pretty sure he forgot how to breathe.

_Eh, breathing is over-rated anyway._

The thigh-high slit made her legs look absolutely fantastic. Who was he kidding, she looked absolutely fabulous in almost anything.

Suddenly there was something in his line of vision, and he growled angrily. When the part of his brain, which was responsible for identifying things finally kicked back into action he noticed that it was a handkerchief. He turned to glare at Edric.

"You were about to start drooling, man." He said laughing.

He scoffed. No, he was not.

_Yes, you were._

"Hey, guys," Arya said joining them, her gaze fixed on him. "Hey, Gendry."

"Hey." He was actually proud of himself that he was able to say that.

"I think we should offer one handkerchief to Arya too," Sansa said in a stage whisper.

"Go away, Sansa." She said not breaking their eye-contact.

Edric and Sansa left sniggering.

"You look beautiful." Gendry complimented.

Truthfully, beautiful seemed inefficient. He didn't think there was a word that could properly define her beauty.

She blushed prettily. "Thank you. You look great too."

"Thank you."

They lapsed into silence, both of them studying each other. He could feel the air crackle between them.

"Did you know the cake today is chocolate too?" Arya said her lips quirked up playfully.

He gulped. "Uh, no." He was becoming a great conversationalist with all the uh’s and um’s. What was wrong with him?

"Hey, guys. Sorry to break this staring contest but the would-be groom is searching for you two." Sansa said tugging Arya towards Jon and Ygritte.

*

"You are my best friend, man," Jon said, his speech slurring a bit.

"And you are mine," Gendry replied smiling.

"I love her so much," Jon said.

Gendry chuckled. "I know you do, and she loves you too."

The party went great. There was just one problem, the universe was cock-blocking him. Every time he was with Arya, or things seemed to be getting interesting, someone just had to walk in or interrupt them or 'need' them.

_Yeah, what the fuck universe._

The party was over now, it was just them, and Jon was incredibly drunk.

"Hey, baby," Ygritte said lovingly as she took a seat next to Jon. On noticing Ygritte, he smiled so lovingly at her, that Gendry couldn't help but smile.

"God, you are so beautiful," Jon sighed. "I love you so much."

"He is so drunk," Arya said, taking a seat next to him.

"Yeah."

"Let's go upstairs. I want to go down on you." Jon said suddenly trying to stand.

"That, I did not want to know," Arya said making a face.

Ygritte laughed. "We are going to put you to sleep. You can do that later."

"Could have stopped at later, but no." Arya muttered just so only Gendry could hear her. He snorted.

"Okay. Here we go," Ygritte said placing Jon's arm around her shoulder. "You guys enjoy, I'm going to take him upstairs."

"Wait I'll help you." He said standing up.

"No. It's fine." Ygritte smiled. "You guys have fun."

They sat there in silence as they watched Jon take Ygritte upstairs to their room.

"So-" They started simultaneously.

"You first." They said in unison again.

They both chuckled then Gendry gestured Arya to continue.

"Nice party," Arya said smiling softly.

"You stole my line," Gendry teased.

"Really?" She said as she leaned towards him slightly.

"Yeah." He breathed out as he leaned forward a bit too.

"So did you enjoy the cake?" He asked.

"Not as much as I did last night," Arya answered moving closer.

"You did enjoy the one we ate last night, a lot." He murmured in agreement. They were only a few inches apart now. His heart was racing.

"I really did," Her eyes dropped to his lips then back to his eyes.

He was just about to close the distance when a crashing noise broke the moment. He closed his eyes in frustration.

_The universe strikes again._

"What the hell, Bran?" Arya yelled.

"Sorry. It just kind of slipped." Bran shouted back. "Sorry, Arya."

He saw Bran helping Meera, who apparently was the one he ran into leading to Meera drop the glass that she was holding. He saw Arya cursing angrily under her breath, which made him chuckle. She looked so cute when she was angry.

"I should go." He said when he realized what they were about to do and in her home no less. What if someone had walked in.

_Someone almost did._

"Why?" Arya asked.

"It's late and I have to work in the morning." He answered, at least that was not a lie. He did have to work in the morning.

She humphed and he wanted to kiss her. So he hurried before he could do anything stupid. They walked towards the main door and he turned to say goodnight to her. She actually looked disappointed.

_Fuck it._

"Is this open?" He nodded towards the small store-room beside the door.

She looked at him confused. "Yeah. Why?"

"I forgot something." He said quietly.

Arya opened the door and entered the room, switching on the light and Gendry followed her.

"What did you forget?" Arya said searching.

"This." He said as he cupped her face and kissed her.

She froze for a second, thinking he had made a huge mistake he pulled back, and saw Arya staring him, her lips parted.

"I'm-"

Arya grabbed the lapels of his suit and pulled him down, pressing her lips against his. She arms went around his neck, his hand cradling the back of her head as he deepened the kiss, making her moan. He couldn't help it, he chuckled.

"What?" She said smiling against his lips.

"I couldn't help but think about the cake." He grinned.

Blushing slightly Arya laughed.

"I really do have to leave." He whispered as he pulled her close for a short kiss.

"Good night M'lady." He said, opening the door and kissed her once more.

"It sure is."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So what do you guys think? I hope you like it. Again I'm sorry for all my mistakes. Thank you so much for reading <3


	8. There Was Supposed To Be a Party

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much guys for all the amazing comments and Kudos.  
> You guys are the best <3

****There Was Supposed To Be a Party** **

He leaned back against the door. He couldn't help but smile like an idiot. An idiot who just kissed the girl of his dreams. He felt like he was floating on a cloud. She felt perfect against him. He loved the little sighs and gasps she made. He loved how she drew him closer to her as if the distance between them had offended her. It took every ounce of self-control he had not to press her against the wall and…God, she was absolutely perfect. Their kisses were everything he had hoped- his thoughts came to a crashing halt when he finally remembered.

Cake? Cake! What the actual fuck!

He was still standing outside the door, his head resting against it when the smile on his lips vanished. He moved slightly, turning to face the wall and then banged his head against it. Did he just bring up cake when he was kissing the girl of his dream for the very first time?

_Technically second time._

It was one hell of a kiss, well actually four amazing kisses, but what the actual fuck?

It felt like everything was going in slow motion inside his head, him kissing her and feeling on top of this world, her kissing him and that was actually better. At that moment, he felt like every cell of his being was on fire, she had moaned, she actually moaned and him, like an idiot he ruined it by chuckling and saying that he couldn't help but think about the cake, right in the middle of making out.

_I'd be surprised if she would even talk to you after that. You ruined it._

He groaned and banged his head against the wall again.

_Yeah, continue to do that, maybe that will turn back time._

He was an idiot. A complete and utter idiot. What if she thought he didn't feel how she felt? What if she thought that he wasn't into it, or worse her? He groaned as he dragged the palm of his hand down his face. He ruined it.

*

She slumped against the door, tracing her lips with her finger. She still couldn't believe he had kissed her. She couldn't believe that she actually grabbed his jacket and pulled him down to kiss him. It was perfect. She couldn't believe she actually froze the first time but she did make up for it by kissing him again and he had reciprocated with equal enthusiasm. Then she moaned, and he had laughed. He had remembered that stupid cake. Why? Was he not enjoying it as much as she was? The way he kissed her would disagree with her. She knew he was slightly nervous too and God knew how much of an idiot she became whenever she was nervous. She hoped he wasn't beating himself up too much about it because she knew him and he would do that. Who was she kidding? She would do that too.

Her mind was playing the kisses on a loop, and she was thankful for it. That was when she heard a dull thunk. She frowned, then ignored it. She was going back to dreaming mode. She heard the thunk again. Okay, there was definitely something outside. She got up and looked through the peephole and saw nothing. She, as quietly as she could, picked up the baseball bat from the still open storeroom. She slowly and silently opened the door, raising the bat as she got out. She sighed with relief when she saw that it was Gendry. His head against the wall, he looked like he was contemplating his existence.

"Hey." She said quietly, trying not to surprise him as she placed the bat against the door.

He jumped a little and turned to see who it was. On noticing her he first relaxed, but soon guilt clouded his features. She knew it. He was thinking about it.

"You okay?" She asked.

"I am because there is no cure for being an idiot." He answered gloomily.

She took his hand and moved to sit on the porch.

"It's okay, Gendry." She said soothingly.

He shook his head. "No, it’s not. I am an idiot."

Okay, he was taking this way too hard.

"Gendry-" she started.

"I’m am-" Gendry said sadly.

"Oh God, Gendry-"

"I'm sorry-"

"Stop talking, Gendry. It's okay. It happens. Between the two of us, we were bound to say something stupid.” She said gently.

“But-”

“No more buts.” She said seriously, then in a teasing tone added. “I’m glad we got the awkwardness out of the way, and now, we can get our freak on.”

She was hoping to make him laugh or chuckle instead he turned to look at her with so much adoration in his eyes that she felt her heart skip a beat.

 “You are amazing.” He said smiling softly at her.

“I know.”   

She pressed a kiss on his nose. “Stop brooding. You have to work early tomorrow. Go home, or you can come up.” She said wiggling her eyebrows.

This time he did chuckle. “You share the room with your sister.”

She shrugged. “Eh, we can kick her out.”

He laughed. “So that we can get our freak on.”

She winked. He was looking at her like she was…everything. She moved closer, and so did he. This time when their lips touched, it wasn’t rushed. One of his hand was on her cheek, and the other was in her hair. His thumb was gently stroking her cheek. She felt like she was floating. It was as if he was trying to put everything he was feeling, everything he wanted to say to her in that kiss. She felt his tongue trace the seam of her lips making her sigh. She wanted to move closer to him, to touch him, so she did. She did not break the kiss when she moved to straddle him. God bless the slit in her dress which made it easier. His hand moved to her waist, and she buried her fingers in his black hair at the nape of his neck. His hold on her tightened. He gently bit her lower lip making her moan. This, being in his arms, kissing like they had all the time in the world felt like heaven. His other hand was moving up and down her bare leg, and she gasped. She pulled back slightly, he started to press kisses down her jaw. Every time his hand inched higher, she felt like she was going to combust.

“I love this dress.” He whispered as he kissed her neck.

“Mmhmm.” That was all she felt she was capable of saying because she was slowly turning to jelly.

“You are so beautiful.” He mumbled moving up her neck.

“Arya?” They froze when they heard Bran’s shocked voice, his gaze flicking between her and Gendry.

She turned and saw Brand and Meera standing their mouth hanging open, both of them wet and yeah, almost naked. Almost because they were trying to cover themselves up with whatever they were wearing before.

After a moment Bran shrugged. “I won’t tell if you won’t.”

*

"Come on, tell me. I'm sure it isn't that bad." Gendry said.

Last night, he had asked her out on another date and obviously she had said yes. But this time she did tell him where they should go for dinner before he made reservations everywhere. After a lot of thought, she decided on a small Italian restaurant, which was a lot closer to his place. It wasn’t intentional.

_Yeah, right._

They were almost done with dessert when he once again brought up her infamous dream.

"Promise me you won't laugh." She said. She was sure her cheeks were going red. God knew what was going to happen when she would actually tell him.

_Nothing major, you will probably turn into a beet._

Gendry raised his hand with his pinky outstretched. "Pinky promise."

"Okay, okay fine. This should be easier now that we are together. I don't know why I still feel embarrassed. I cannot control dreams-"

"Arya."

She covered her face with her palms. "I had a sex dream and you were going down on me."

There was silence. She knew her voice was muffled because of her hands, so she peeked through her fingers. Gendry was sitting absolutely still.

"Oh, God. I'm so embarrassed." She mumbled. She pressed her palms even more forcefully like her hands were going to absorb her embarrassment, or even better her, who knows? Maybe she was a mutant, and that was her superpower.

She felt Gendry gently removing her hand from her face.

"Why in the world would I laugh?" He asked incredulously.

"I don't know." She mumbled, looking down.

He placed his forefinger under her chin, gently tilting her head up. His eyes were filled with love and desire. "If anything, I think you should tell me more about it."

Her eyes widened.

"You know, I want to know what dream-me did. He must be doing something right."

"Oh, believe me, he was." She said. Her embarrassment dissipated as she remembered the dream. She was sure he could see it on her face because when she looked up, his eyes had darkened. "But I may need something to compare with, otherwise how can I possibly tell." She added with a wink.

Gendry grabbed her hand and pulled her up and leaving way more than a generous tip. She couldn't help it, she giggled.

"Yeah. We are leaving."

As it turned out, the reality was way, way better than any dream.

*

It had been a month since she and Gendry started dating, officially, and honestly, it has been like a dream. If anything, it was better. She thought she might have made the relationship too perfect in her head and she would be sorely disappointed when they finally got together. She was wrong to think that because everything thing that she imagined was tame in comparison to the real thing.

They told their family about them within a week. As it turned out almost everyone in her family already suspected it and everyone had a bet when they were going to tell them, including the day, date and time, well everyone except Jon, or so they thought.

_Jon's face was blank. After staring at them for a long moment, he left the room._

_Gendry gave her a worried look. She squeezed his hand. "It's going to be okay."_

_They followed Jon to the backyard where he was staring silently at the heart tree. They stopped a few feet behind him._

_"How long has this been going on?" Jon asked, he was still facing the tree._

_"A week," She answered._

_"Do you think I'm blind? That I did not see the looks between you two? So please, don't lie."_

_"Jon, we are not lying. It has really been a week." Gendry said._

_Jon said nothing. She could feel Gendry growing nervous beside her. She placed her other hand on his arm to calm him. She knew Jon would be okay with them, but his silence was worrying her too._

_"You could have told me first." Jon said quietly._

_"Jon, we really wanted to-" Gendry started._

_"So that I was the one who won the bet. Now, it's Bran." She saw his shoulder shaking with silent laughter._

_Relief flooded through her and she felt Gendry relax. Jon finally turned to look at them and he was grinning like he had just pulled the greatest prank of all time._

_"Oh God. You should have seen your faces. Do you really think I'm blind? And believe me, I have been seeing all the looks between you two for the past few years."_

And that was it. Though he did pat Gendry on the shoulder a little, okay a lot harder than necessary, but Gendry didn't seem to notice. He was just smiling at her like that was the happiest day of his life.

When they walked back inside there were already talks of yet another party. She put her foot down. She absolutely could not handle any more parties. It wasn't until she threatened that she would show up in her pajamas that everyone stopped. She knew they were teasing her but with her mother and Sansa, one could never know.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So what do you guys think?  
> I tried. I really did.  
> I hope you like it. Again I'm sorry for all my mistakes. Thank you so much for reading <3


	9. The Proposal

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for all your lovely comments and Kudos <3   
> You guys are so awesome!  
> Here it is. The last chapter. I hope you like it <3

****The Proposal** **

Gendry has it all planned out. Today was their one year anniversary, and he was going to take Arya to the same Paintball place where they went on their first date, and he was going to propose to her there. He had bought an engagement ring, to be completely honest, he bought it two weeks after they started dating. When he went to talk with the manager of the place the manager had looked at him in surprise and said what are the chances. What are the chances of what? He didn't need this. It was not like he wasn't capable of over-thinking by himself. He was plenty capable, thank you.

_I don't think that is something you should brag about._

Talking about over-thinking, Arya has been acting a little weird lately. Nothing much, it was just the little things. She was slightly jumpy, looked a little nervous. He didn't know what that was about, so he decided to ask her one day, she replied that it was nothing and that he'll find out soon enough. He guessed that it was probably the anniversary gift, which he was looking forward to.

He had already spoken with almost all the Starks’. First were Mr. and Mrs. Stark, he respected them immensely and when they gave him their blessing he felt relief coursing through him. Even after knowing them for ages and them knowing about their relationship he was a bit nervous.

_Yeah, right. 'A bit'._

Okay, fine. He was a lot nervous. Why the hell wouldn't he be? They were Arya’s parents and the closest thing to parents he had, but everything went smoothly. Better than he had hoped really. He had a long speech prepared and everything, but they had given him their blessing.

_Which is a good thing because the speech sucked._

No, it didn’t. After that, it was Jon and Robb then subsequently everyone. They had promised him a painful death if he ever even thought about hurting Arya. He knew they were looking out for their sister, that they were playing the whole stereotypical big brother role. He also knew that they were completely serious. It may have hurt slightly because they have known him since they were all kids and they also knew how much he loved Arya, she meant everything to him, but he did understand. She was their sister. He would have done the same thing if he had one.

But that was all about two days ago. Now he was planning on proposing to the love of his life. He was really nervous. He knew she loved him, he was sure of that more than anything. That didn’t stop him from being a nervous wreck.

"Hey, Gen," Arya said, holding his phone. "Why is the Paintball place calling you?"

He froze. Why the hell did he save the number? It doesn't matter, he thought, as he hurriedly took the phone from her hand before she could pick it up.

"I don't know, babe.” He said quickly and picked up the phone. “Hello."

"Hello, Mr. Gendry. I'm Lommy from the King's Landing Paintball. You have booked the arena for 6 in the evening."

"Yes." He saw Arya looking at him curiously. He gave her a small smile.

"I'm sorry, sir, but we have to cancel it." Lommy, or whatever his name was, said.

"WHAT?!"

*

Why was this happening? Today was supposed to be perfect. But no! Everything was turning into a shit show. After the paintball place called to cancel, for no good reason and just an hour before they were about to leave, he tried to make a reservation at Smallwood's, which was booked too.

_Why the hell didn't you make a reservation at Smallwood's in the first place?_

Because Arya wanted to try a new restaurant. It was as if the whole world decided to go to the same places where he wanted to propose to Arya. He still had his initial plan, proposing to her at the Stark house. He will have to talk to Jon and everyone to help him with some preparations, but he was sure that they could pull it off.

"Gen, we have to go to my parents’ place before we head out to dinner. I have to pick up something." Arya said entering the room, dressed for their dinner.

She looked absolutely radiant in the knee length green dress. He didn't think there would come a time when he wasn't in awe of her. All the things that were occupying his mind, all the nervousness fled as she stood in front of him, a loving smile on her face.

"So what do you think?" Arya asked, looking down at her dress.

"You look absolutely perfect. So beautiful." He said pulling her closer for a quick kiss. As soon as their lips met all thoughts of this being a quick kiss fled his mind. He felt the warmth spreading in his chest as she wrapped her hands around his neck.

She pulled back, smiling softly. "We can, no we will definitely do this later, but I already called my parents, so we should go."

After a quick kiss, Arya hurried to grab her purse, and he decided to call Jon. Who didn't pick up, neither did Robb or Ygritte or Bran or Theon. What was going on? Should he do it at Acorn Hall? Or should he do this any other day?

_No!_

He was still trying to come up with a plan when Arya called him.

"Let's go."

"Yeah." He called back. He will come up with something.

*

They were almost at the Starks’ when he finally thought he had a perfect plan.

"Are you alright? You seem awfully quiet." Arya asked worried.

"It’s nothing." He said quickly.

As they pulled in the driveway, he noticed the lights were off at the house.

He frowned. "Are they out?"

"Let's find out," Arya said, giving him a smile full of promise.

For the umpteenth time today ‘what was going on?’ crossed his mind. They got off the car and made their way towards the house.

"Hey, Gendry," Arya said suddenly. "I'm sorry about the Paintball reservation."

"How do you-" This is when they reached the porch, and then suddenly the porch was lit with the shimmering light from the fairy lights that hung on the doorway.

What was going on?

_Umpteenth and one._

"Do you remember this is where we met for the first time?" Arya said smiling softly. "Jon brought you home from school, and I ran right into you because I was in such a hurry to meet Jon's friend. I was barely seven then."

He smiled at the memory. How can he forget? She ran straight into him, then with an adorable smile had said ‘if you are Jon's friend then you are my friend.’ 

She moved forward opening the door, though it seemed dark from outside, it was lit with the soft glow of lamps. He followed her. His brain was finally catching up as he felt his heart starting to hammer in his chest.

"This is where we actually became friends because of our shared love and hatred of music." She said moving towards the living room. She took his hand. "Let's go." She said softly.

His heart was still beating way too fast. They reached the swimming pool at the back. Fairy lights decorated the pool. The lights that hung near the pool reflected off the surface of the pool giving the whole place an enchanting glow.

"This is where I first saw you without a shirt.” He couldn’t help but chuckle. “I knew I liked you, but that is when I found out what having a real crush means. You should have seen my teenage self with her mouth hanging open when you got out of the pool." She chuckled.

"Arya-" he started, his voice catching.

"And this," she said, moving towards the heart tree, "is where you picked me up after I fell down. I was trying to be brave, trying not to cry, but you were so kind and caring that I couldn't hold them back."

"Let's go back in." She took his hand and turned back towards the house.

He was too overcome with emotions. He felt his eyes prick with tears. When did she plan all this?

"This is where we shared our first kiss," She said, fondly looking at the storeroom. "And then second and third and fourth and then one more. That was a great day."  She tugged his hand as she opened the door once again, but this time the porch was alight candles. He looked at her standing in the warm glow of candlelight. She looked like an angel.

"And this is where I knew that I love you. That you were the one. The one I want to spend the rest of my life with." She said, turning towards him. Her eyes were shining with unshed tears, a beautiful smile adorning her lips.

_Oh my God. She's- she's going to-_

His brain has finally stopped working, but his heart finally seemed to understand, and he felt happiness spread through him.

"Gendry Waters,” She said, her voice slightly breathless. “Will you marry me?"

He thought he knew happiness, but this, this feeling was something else. He had never felt this happy. Feeling this level of joy was a completely new concept for him. He felt the tears of joy slide down his cheeks. He felt like he was on top of the world. He moved forward, cupping her face as he brought her lips closer to his.

"Yes." He said smiling as he pulled back. "A thousand times yes."

She laughed, and he kissed her again. His heart felt like it was going to burst with happiness.

"I love you." He whispered, placing her forehead against hers.

"I love you."

He took the ring out of his pocket and heard her gasp. He had bought a blue diamond ring, since it was her favorite color. He saw her eyes fill with tears once again as he placed the ring on her finger.

"Do you like it?"

She pulled him in for another kiss. Pulling back she raised her hand to look the stone shimmering in the candlelight. "It's absolutely perfect. I love it."

"Can we stop hiding now?" Theon's voice came, and they laughed as everyone else shushed him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So what do you guys think?  
> We did it, guys. I really enjoyed writing it and loved all your feedback. Thank you so much for being so amazing!!  
> So excited for Aryaxgendry week.   
> I really hope you liked it. Again I'm sorry for all my mistakes. Thank you so much for reading <3 <3


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